Harlem man’s 232 complaints about police parking abuse around precinct brought no change; NYPD brass admit problem but are unable to fix it
A Harlem resident made more than 200 complaints of NYPD and police officer personal vehicles blocking the sidewalks and bike lanes around his neighborhood precinct house in March — but found his reports went largely ignored and made no difference in the danger the cars pose to pedestrians.
Christopher Volpe, 30, learned of the danger first-hand as he was walking his dog, Captain, in January when he tried to cross Frederick Douglass Blvd. at W. 123rd St., just outside the NYPD’s 28th Precinct stationhouse.
Volpe said his view was obstructed by a row of double-parked cars, and he didn’t see another vehicle coming until it was too late. The oncoming car clipped Captain, injuring his paw.
“I ran down the street after the car — the driver kept going.” Volpe said.
Holding his dog, Volpe said he shouted at the driver until he got out of his car, and then walked him into the precinct to file a report.
But when Volpe told cops “all this illegal parking contributed” to the incident, he got the cold shoulder.
“We’re not going to put that in the report,” Volpe said he was told.
After his dog’s paw healed, Volpe went to work documenting illegal parking around the stationhouse, sending photos and filing reports to 311 multiple times per day.
Volpe filed 232 complaints with the city in March, one each time he encountered incidents of vehicles parked on the sidewalk, in the bike lane, or double-parked and blocking traffic.
The majority of the complaints show up in the city’s 311 database as having been “closed” within hours — sometimes minutes — of being reported.
“The Police Department responded to the complaint and took action to fix the condition,” records of the complaint in the 311 system typically say.
But Volpe said the situation on the ground never changed. Many of the cars Volpe deemed illegally parked displayed placards identifying them as belonging to police officers.
Personal cars and official police vehicles were parked on the sidewalk on both sides of St. Nicholas Ave. on the west side of the precinct building when the Daily News visited last week. Double-parked cars blocked both the north and southbound bike lanes.
On the east side of the building, cars were backed up onto the sidewalk along Frederick Douglass Blvd., with more cars double-parked in front of them.
One block north of the stationhouse — on Frederick Douglass Blvd. between W. 123rd and W. 124th St. — 18 cars were parked on the sidewalk in a no-standing zone. Eight of those cars displayed NYPD placards on their dashboards. One displayed an FDNY placard.
In lieu of a placard, the driver of a silver Nissan Altima had simply placed an NYPD-issued jacket on the dashboard with the departmental patch facing up through the windshield.
An NYPD spokesman said the 28th Precinct’s commanding officer, Capt. Tarik Sheppard, was aware of the issue.
“We listen to our communities and we know that parking around our precincts is a persistent concern,” the spokesman said in a statement. “It is difficult due to the number of persons who work in a precinct and the amount of parking available.
“Vehicles are not permitted to block the bike lane,” the spokesman continued. “The commanding officer of the 28th Precinct is working to ensure that the lane remains open and clear.”
“In terms of vehicles that are seized and stored at the precinct, if we are able to operate the vehicle, we will drive the vehicle to an appropriate storage location.” the spokesman added. “We recognize that this is a challenge and remain committed to addressing these community concerns.”
Michael Moran, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California-Berkeley, made police parking in New York City the subject of a recent scientific study.
Moran found that 70 of the city’s 77 precinct stationhouses regularly had cars parked on the sidewalk or double-parked on the street — as is the case in the 28th Precinct.
“The most common effect of such parking was a narrowing of the sidewalk where pedestrians can walk, or its complete blockage,” Moran wrote.
Besides making it hard sometimes for pedestrians to approach precinct houses, the parking “creates profound challenges for those with mobility impairments, those who use mobility aids, those transporting goods in personal shopping carts, and parents with strollers,” Moran wrote.
He added that the parking “reduces the ability for the sidewalk to serve other purposes, such as room for street trees, and play space for children.”
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell addressed the parking issue at a City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting earlier this month.
“As a three-time commander of three precincts, it’s probably one of my biggest pet peeves, parking on sidewalks,” Chell said. “It’s not right.”
Chell said he’s directed some 5,000 inspections around city stationhouses regarding allegations of police parking on sidewalks, using license plate covers that could evade bridge-and-tunnel tolls, and general parking violations. “It’s one of my priorities,” he said.
“It is mentioned at roll calls,” NYPD Transportation Bureau Chief Kim Royster testified. “There are site inspections that are done; there are borough inspection teams that are going out, and if I may say, there are announcements that are made.”
“Chief, I live on the streetcorner of a precinct [station],” said Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn). “Never in my entire life have I not seen cars illegally parked on the sidewalk.
“I have nine precincts in my district — it is ubiquitous at every single one,” Restler told the chiefs.
Restler’s district includes much of the 84th, 88th, 90th and 94th precincts, along with portions of the 79th, 76th and 78th precincts. Two precincts that patrol NYCHA projects, PSA 1 and PSA 3, also operate in Restler’s district.
Restler said at the hearing that whatever NYPD chiefs are telling rank-and-file officers about the issue isn’t taking hold. “They are willfully, consistently ignoring it,” he said.
